The Historical Background of The Relationships of TurkeyUzbekistan: The Political and Cultural Relations Between the Ottoman Empire and Turkestan (XVI.-XX. Centuries)
Mustafa BudakTurkey and Uzbekistan are two new nation-states that gained their independence, Turkey in the first quarter of the 20th century and Uzbekistan in the last quarter of the same century. At the same time, Turkey and Uzbekistan are successors of the Ottoman Empire and Turkestan Khanetes moreower, they have similarities in terms of origin, religion, language, history, and culture. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire maintained the political, scientific and cultural relations with the Khanates of Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva and Hokand in Turkestan between XVI.-XX.centuries. This paper’s aim is to remind us that the relations established between Turkey and Uzbekistan for the last 30 years are not new, that these relations have a historical and cultural basis, and that both countries can build a common future by taking advantage of this historical heritage. The paper consists of two parts. In the first part, the political relations with the Turkestan Khanates of the Ottoman Empire between XVI.-XX. centuries will be explained in general terms. In the second part, in the mentioned centuries, the cultural and scientific relations will be emphasized. These are services and activities such as helping the Turkestan pilgrims, sending some religious books, especially the Quran, and bringing students from Turkestan to Istanbul for education. This situation continued until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Türkiye-Özbekistan İlişkilerinin Tarihi Zemini: OsmanlıTürkistan Arasındaki Siyasi ve Kültürel İlişkiler (XVIXX. Yüzyıllar)
Mustafa BudakTürkiye ile Özbekistan, birincisi XX. yüzyılın ilk çeyreğinde, ikincisi de XX. yüzyılın son çeyreğinde istiklalini kazanmış yeni iki ulus devlettir. Aynı zamanda Türkiye ve Özbekistan, Osmanlı Devleti ile Türkistan Hanlıklarının halefleridir. Ayrıca, köken, din, dil, tarih ve kültürel açılardan benzerlikler taşımaktadır. Makalenin amacı, Türkiye ile Özbekistan arasında kurulmuş olan son 30 yıllık ilişkilerin yeni olmadığını, tarihi ve kültürel bir zemine sahip bulunduğunu; her iki ülkenin bu tarihi mirastan yararlanarak ortak gelecek inşa edebileceklerini hatırlatmaktır. Bu makale, iki bölümden meydana gelmektedir. Birinci bölümde, XVI.-XX yüzyıllar arasında, Osmanlı Devleti’nin Türkistan hanlıkları ile olan siyasi ilişkileri genel hatlarıyla anlatılacaktır. İkinci bölümde ise kültürel ve ilmi ilişkiler üzerinde durulacaktır. Bunlar, Türkistan hacılarına yardım yapılması, Kuran-ı Kerim başta olmak üzere birtakım dini kitaplar gönderilmesi, tahsil için Türkistan’dan İstanbul’a öğrenciler getirilmesi gibi hizmet ve faaliyetlerdir. Bu durum Osmanlı Devleti’nin çöküşüne kadar devam etmiştir.
Turkey and Uzbekistan are two new nation-states that gained their independence, the first in the first quarter of the 20th century and the second in the last quarter of the same century. Although Turkey and Uzbekistan are new states, they are the successors of the Ottoman Empire and Turkistan Khanates, which were established in two ancient geographies of Turkish-İslamic civilization, Anatolia and Transoxiana. Moreover, Turkey and Uzbekistan have similarities in terms of origin, religion, language, history, and culture. İn fact, they have common political, scientific, and religious personalities such as Amir Timur, Ali Kuscu, Ulugh Begh and Imam Bukhari. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire maintained political military, scientific, and cultural relations with the Khanates of Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva, and Hokand in Turkestan between XVI.-XX. Centuries.
As it is known, Ottoman-Uzbek relations began with the defeat of the Uzbek khan, Muhammed Shaybani Khan, to the Safavid ruler Shah Ismail in Mahmudabad near Merv in 1510 and later, Shah İsmail sends the head of Shaybani to the Ottoman Sultan, Beyazid II. This was Shah Ismail’s challenge to the Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II. At the same time, this challenge caused the start of the Ottoman-Safavid struggle and caused the establishment of OttomanUzbek political relations because Ottoman sultans wanted to establish a Sunni alliance with the Uzbek khans against the Safavids. Also, the Uzbek khans were afraid of the Safavids taking over the Sunni regions in Transoxiana. Thus, Ambassadors began to come and go between the Ottoman sultans and the Uzbek khans. Firstly, Selim I, the Ottoman Sultan, sent Muhammed Beg to Köçküncü Han Samarkand Khan, before the Battle of Çaldıran dated 1514. The purpose of Selim I was to cooperate with Samarkand Khan against Shiites. Likewise, Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Sultan, sent letters to the rulers of Samarkand (Ubeydullah Khan) and Bukhara (Ali Sultan) before the Iraqi expedition, calling for “jihad” against Shiite Iran. These letters pleased the two Uzbek khans. Despite the Amasya (1555) and İstanbul (1590) treaties, the Ottoman Empire left the Uzbek khans alone against the Safavids because the Safavids had promised not to attack the Uzbeks. But they didn’t promise that by encouraging wars with Austria of the Ottoman Empire. Safavids declared war against the Uzbeks. Unfortunately, the Ottomans did not answer the Uzbeks’ calls for help. On the contrary, the Ottomans replied “We are at peace with Iran. You live in peace”. This attitude of the Ottomans was purely political pragmatism. In addition, the power struggle between the Uzbek khans played an important role in the attitude of the Ottomans. Finally, the Russians benefited from this rivalry and after the middle of the last quarter of the 19th century, Turkestan was occupied by the Russians.
As it is known, Turkestan pilgrims were going to Mecca on three roads. One of these roads was the Crimea-Istanbul-Mecca road via the Caspian. Moreover, Istanbul was the center of the caliphate for Turkestan pilgrims. The pilgrimage would not be accepted for them without visiting Istanbul for them. The Ottoman Sultans attached great importance to the safety of pilgrimage routes. In addition, this issue was a matter of political superiority for the Ottoman Sultans. Therefore, the Turkestan pilgrims preferred this route.
On the other hand, Turkestani Pilgrims who came to Istanbul were hosted in the Naqshbandi Uzbek lodges in Istanbul. These lodges acted as consulates. Likewise, the Ottoman governments were meeting their needs and allocating ferries for pilgrims After the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Monarchy, students from Turkistan came to Istanbul for education. One of these was the Uzbek writer Abdurrauf Fitrat. Turkistan youth like him wrote articles in magazines like Sırat-ı Müstakim. In addition, the people of Bukhara helped the Ottoman Empire financially in the Balkan War and the First World War. Towards the end of the war, Enver Pasha and his friends joined the Basmacilik movement. These relations lasted until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The main source of this study is the Ottoman Archive of the Directorate of State Archives, Presidency of Republic of Turkey. In addition, books and articles related to the subject were also used.